Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jul 21

Canine Hookworm Incubation

Hookworms in dogs are short, stout worms, with hooked heads.  There are 2 types of these worms and they both live happily in dogs. 

Hookworm And Dogs: 
They are very common in the US, but are not usually found in domestic pets in the UK - and it is more likely to find them in larger dog polulations such as greyhound and ‘hunt’ kennels.

Both types of hookworm live in the small intestines of your dog and attach theselves to the intestinal mucosa with their mouthparts - as with most other worm types.  However these worms use their teeth or plates to actually damage the wall lining - eating the damaged tissues rather than the food that the dog has eaten.

A small burden of hookworms in dogs may not be noticable in their appearance, but with a heavy burden or an already sick dog, you will notice weight loss and possibly anaemia.

Lifecycle:
The adult female worms lay eggs which travel through the intestines and pass out in the dogs stools. These egg cases are very well protected outside of the host, and can survive in the environment until another host is found - or walks by…..

However, the eggs of the hook worm do not necessarily need to be ingested to continue the cycle, although this is the most common way.

As with roundworms, infected female dogs (bitches) can infect their litter of puppies with Ancylostoma species in their milk during lactation, so treatment before breeding is advised if you don’t have a regular treatment schedule anyway.

The infective larvae of both types of hookworm are also able burrow into the skin of an animal! If in the right environment, the larvae hatch out outside of an animal and use their mouth parts to burrow into their flesh causing dermatitis where they burrow onto the skin.  Some though, are more than capable of burrowing all the way through the dogs flesh and into the intestines to complete their lifecycle!

Whichever way the hookworms get in to your dog however, this type of worm can easily be treated with medication from your vet, and repeated treatment is the best method of control in endemic areas or kennels.

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posted by admin on Jul 18

Heartworm And Heartworm Symptoms.

The heart-worm (Dirofilaria immitis) does not usually occur in the UK but is commonly found in dogs from warmer climates including the US. Cats in the UK are hardly ever found to have these worms, and even in the US it is rare for this species.

The adult worms live in the dog or cats heart as their name suggests, but these then produce immature larvae (microfilariae) which are dispersed into the hosts blood.

Most healthy animals can tolerate a certain amount of heart-worms, but treatment is the best option as they can start to block the action of the heart when their numbers increase, causing coughing to start, but also can induce fainting after exercise and eventually heart failure and death as a result.

How They Reproduce:
Heart-worm larvae are transmitted to new hosts via mosquitoes. Basically the mosquito sucks up the microfilariae when feeding off of an infected dog or cat, then when it next feeds it passes some of these into the skin of it’s next meal. Once inside their next dog or cat host they migrate to the heart and can become adults.

Due to this insect-transmission, the worms are only really passed onto new hosts during the peak seasons for the mosquitoes to be feeding - so in colder months this doesn’t spread. It is also the reason why it is not normally found in the UK as the mosquito involved is hardly ever found there to pass this worm around.

This is why heart-worm prevalence in Ohio and Florida, for example, can be so different - it all depends on the mosquito to act as intermediate host, which ultimately depends on the weather.

Obviously using insect repellents on your pets can help to reduce transmission rates, but continuous treatment is the best course of action - as testing first then treatment could cost more than just routine wormers alone.

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posted by admin on Jul 15

Feline and Canine Whipworms.

Whipworm (Trichuris vulpis) is found in domestic dogs and cats throughout the US and Australia, but is not found in the UK, other than from untreated recently imported animals.

This worm is whip-shaped - hence the name and has one thick and one thin end and usually grow up to 7cm long and live in the large intestine or cecum as adults, where they bury their slimmer heads into the intestinal tissues leaving the thicker end sticking out into the intestines themselves.

A low burden (i.e. not many worms) is tolerated well by healthy adult cats and dogs, and most individual animals will not normally become ill with these worms living in their intestines. However, a large amount of worms - i.e a heavy burden - can lead to unpleasant bloody, mucus filled diarrhoea, which will need treatment from a vet.

How they reproduce:
The female adult whip-worms produce eggs which are passed through their thicker end into the intestines and subsequently are passed out in the stools of the dog or cat.

These eggs are characteristically oval in shape, and under the microscope can be seen to have a ‘plug’ at both ends. They are covered with a thick shell to help protect the larvae inside, and so are very resistant to damage from the environment. Once they leave the host and are dropped into bedding or onto the ground they are on their own, but are more than prepared for it.

In good conditions, eggs containing infective larvae can survive for several years outside a host before being ingested - either licked up or eaten - by an animal. So that is a pretty hardy little creature. They are host specific though, so will only survive and grow to be an adult whip worm in either a dog or a cat - even if swallowed by a bird or other animal.

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posted by admin on Jul 9

How to get rid of fleas in your home.

It’s ok asking how to get rid of fleas in your home, as it is a common problem all pets owners have to deal with at some point of another.  However - everyone normally blames their pet and as a result there are many flea treatments available for flea control for just your pets.  But did you know that just treating your pet doesn’t always get rid of fleas in your home?

Fleas have been evolving for centuries to be the best parasite they can be, so you really need to know your stuff about them if you are going to outwit them at first attempt. You and your friends have probably tried new treatments for flea control from a pet shop, supermarket or your vets time and time again, but they just don’t seem to work, and have sometimes cost you a lot of money.

Therefore I am going to outline the 2 main types of flea control, and how effective they are, or why they appear to fail.

Pet-Only Flea Control Products:
These are flea treatments only for use on your pets, and include plain flea collars, electronic flea collars, flea sprays, flea pipettes, flea powder and shampoos, all designed to be used only on the pet itself - and specific to dogs OR cats. 

YOU CANNOT USE A DOG SPECIFIC PRODUCT ON A CAT.

Flea treatments for pets are very effective at killing fleas if they contain insecticides, as these will instantly kill any live fleas on your pet and you will sometimes see the results of these within minutes as you rinse or groom your pet after application.

The reason that some flea treatments for pets appear not to work after the initial treatment is that fleas actually live in your house, not on your pets at all.  The fleas only hop onto your pets to feed or breed.

Specialist flea companies quote something like for every adult flea you see there are another 100 in your home. Not surprisingly then, after you have freed your pet of however many fleas were on it at the time, as soon as it returns to your home, the next hungry lot jump straight back on!

But it lasts for 6 months… 
Don’t think that if the flea control products have a lasting effect - say 4 months protection - this will last to the end, as not all areas of the pet will remain protected for the whole time the flea collar or drops suggest. Dogs and cats get wet in the rain, washing chemicals off the felt-like collars very quickly. Humans touch the collars or groom their pets too soon, reducing it’s total insecticide content.

Either way, it’s bad news for you here, as even if the cat or dog is well protected, the fleas have still got to feed, so you may well become the next victim until you forget to continue the flea treatment on your pet, or don’t replace that flea collar as required, so the fleas can safely seek out the dog or cat again…..

So, why do they sell these products then?
Well, they are part of a whole flea control program, and are effective for just one small part if used alone. When used correctly with other flea control products for the home they will keep your pet and home clean of fleas.

Household-Only Flea Control Products:
These are usually large aerosol spray cans, flea powders or ‘bombs’ and are available as pet supplies but also in hardware stores and supermarkets, mainly for killing fleas in carpets and other furnishing.

The main problem with household flea control products is that they all do exactly what they say on the packaging (as the laws are very strict with chemicals), but we don’t always read the labels.  There are sprays that kill just adult fleas, and those that kill the larvae too, but there is only one type of aerosol spray that will actually rid your home of fleas properly - and it’s one that kills all 4 flea life-stages.

Basically, fleas are insects and have a life-cycle that includes the flea eggs, flea larvae, pupae and the actual adult flea, so you need a flea control treatment that does ALL 4 THINGS at the same time.

Inevitably these are more expensive than others, and for them to work you need to buy enough to do every single room in your home, including the shed, the garage, the loft, conservatories and porches, etc. They must be sprayed as directed in every room or place in your home or garden where people go (as fleas can be on you not just the pet). This might seem extreme, but if you treat everywhere except the shed and there are adult fleas in there, the next person in there will be dinner, and may well bring one back in your home to start laying eggs all over again, and you have wasted your time and money.

I know it sounds like overkill (excuse the pun), but you want them gone, right? So make sure you check you have enough of the right household flea control products for your type of property and use as directed.  Use the tips below to see where you went wrong last time:

Products that only kill the adult flea - no good - the flea eggs and flea larvae will still hatch at some point, re-infesting your home.
Products that only cover 1 or 2 rooms - no good - the fleas will still be living around the rest of your home, and will still breed there, biting you and your pets.
Products that last less than a year - no good - flea eggs can stay dormant in your carpet for over a year, so will be unaffected.

In Conclusion Then:
So, how to get rid of fleas in your home is actually simple, but there are so many treatments out there that you feel like you are going round in circles, trying one after the other.

Get the best advice from the products themselves, not other people. Read the labels yourself, and use as directed for the most effective flea control: well it’s your home after all.

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posted by admin on Jul 6

History of Rabies in Cats and Dogs.

Rabies - a word derived from the Sanskrit, ‘to do violence’ - which was also known in Latin as ‘the madness’ - is apparently one of the oldest documented diseases of humankind. The symptoms described in ancient literature are exactly the same as we see now in modern times.

Various people through the ages, tried to work out where it came from and how it was passed on, mainly due to the effect on humans, which was - before 1900 - madness and certain death!

During the early part of the nineteenth century, European scientists proved in experiments that saliva from rabid humans and dogs would infect healthy dogs. This confirmed the centuries-old suspicion that the cause of rabies being transmitted from one animal to another was associated with the saliva of the rabid animal.

Step Up Louis Pasteur…. 
Perhaps the most famous of all medical experiments involved the early use of a rabies vaccine in humans by Louis Pasteur, which had proved successful only in dogs. On July 6, 1885, he administered his first ‘human vaccine’ to a 9-year old boy who had been attacked by a dog - which almost certainly had rabies. The boy was given thirteen separate injections over the following 2 weeks, and survived.

However this isn’t the end of the rabies story. Only certain countries have cheap and plentiful access to the modern versions of these vaccines. Even now, only developed countries can get vaccinations at a low cost prior to infection at a low cost, and not every country even has access to the vaccine given after infection.

Facts like these go to explain why there were still 55,000 reported human cases of rabies last year alone, with no doubt a large number more that went unreported in isolated communities across the globe.

Rabies Today: 
WHO claim that a huge majority of infected humans last year were children under the age of 15, who were bitten, scratched or licked (on broken skin) by feral or domestic but free roaming dogs. Many of these children were just unable to get treatment either because of where they lived or the very high cost.

Even in areas where the vector animals are being targeted for oral vaccination in baited foods it is not always successful. Worldwide, the percentage of animals ingesting the vaccine is not above the necessary threshold for total control or eradication. Baiting has been successful in areas of Europe, but even the United States cannot seem to control this disease (Hawaii is only rabies free due to it’s isolated location).

It would seem as though the world will have rabies for some time to come.

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posted by admin on Jul 2

Is there an organic flea treatment?

A lot of people are now asking for an organic flea treatment or natural flea killer to treat their home and pets for flea control, as they don’t want to use strong chemicals on their pet or to just release into the environment, but unfortunately, you can’t kill fleas with garlic, or vinegar alone.

If you have read the other article on this site - how to rid my home of fleas - you will be aware that any such products would only actually ‘work’ if the house and pet had been totally cleared of fleas using insecticide treatments.

It is not uncommon for a pet owner to never have to use insecticidal flea control products on their pet itself, and I was one of them.

Flea allergies:
My little cross breed had flea allergy dermatitis (which should only be diagnosed by a vet - not assumed) and she was forever gnawing off all the hair and skin down her back and sides. I would say she did this until it was red raw, but in-fact she wouldn’t stop chewing even then in her agony from the reaction to flea bites and their saliva.

I tried all sorts of ‘pet’ remedies for flea control alongside treating the house as recommended by my vets, but her skin seemed to still be reacting to everything - usually still in the tell tale ‘flea zone’. By this I mean firstly you notice the hair going missing down the spine towards the tail end - well this is where the dog can easily reach with their teeth! Then the skin in that area would start to go dark - another classic marker for severe skin irritation, then I would notice sores and welts with clear liquid oozing from them. It was not nice.

It was years before I started working in the pet trade and found out about the flea cycle and how I could benefit my little hound. I also found out that many dogs who are sensitive to flea bites are also sensitive to powerful flea insecticides and other flea treatments. How obvious! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it.

Insecticide Free Treatment:

So with my new knowledge of how fleas acted and bred, I set off to change my flea control program.

Firstly I treated my home with an effective 12 month household flea spray - and I was very thorough. I couldn’t bear one more summer of hairless, uncomfortable, irritated and sore pet! Not one flea was going to escape this time.

Secondly, I groomed my pet outside using a fine flea comb, so thoroughly that she was starting to get really bored of the whole thing and kept trying to walk off. I groomed her again before we got home after the house spraying and upon returning I vacuumed everywhere, emptying the bag and vacuuming again a bit later. I also groomed her several more times that week with the flea comb and vacuumed a few more times to be sure. My other half thought I was a bit crazy, but I knew it would be worth it in the end.

Did it work?
Well yes, it did actually, for the rest of her life in-fact!

I was always watching out for any sign of fleas on her or me, and the minute she span round to stare at her own bum - I knew we had one, so out came the flea comb - outside of the house - until I found it.

I did have some assistants in my quest and these were the natural insect repellents, including citronella, garlic, vinegar and the like. Many such products are sold everywhere and have been for years as ‘herbal’ flea products. All such products do naturally ward off insects including fleas, and so can help to reduce the number of fleas your pet comes into contact with throughout the day.

By feeding or spraying your pet with these, you make them a more unattractive target for fleas wherever they go, so you can in theory use these to keep your pet and home free of infestation - you will never keep you pet or home free of fleas though, as if one is hungry enough, it doesn’t care how smelly your pet is, it needs to eat!

Can you imagine being starving hungry yourself and not going into your own kitchen as your other half had just fried fish in there? No, you would just brave it, grab your food quickly and get out of there. That’s exactly what the flea might do.

So, can you get organic flea treatments?
Yes, you can easily buy and effectively use natural and organic flea treatments, but there is not really a natural flea killer - apart from humans of course! Anyone can use natural products to keep their homes clear of infestation, and we can make it very likely that fleas won’t use us or our pets for food.

There are plenty of products like these available in pet stores everywhere for your use, either sprays, tablets, drops or shampoos.

And so, you CAN enjoy a natural, organic and flea free life.

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